The Judgment of the Nations

Today's Reflections

                      

                                                                                 

 

The Judgment of the Nations

Mt 25:31-46

[Jesus said to his disciples,] ³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, ³²and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ ⁴⁰And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’...  ⁴⁶And these will go off... to eternal life.”

"YOU DID FOR ME." This is the good news of the Judeo-Christian tradition: a human being is not just one of God’s many creatures; the human person is God’s unique creature. God did not simply make man and woman the high point, the crowning glory, of creation; the human person—male and female—is created in God’s image and likeness. Hence, even in the Old Testament era, God identifies with the lowliest of human beings (cf Prv 19:17).

Jesus brings this closeness of God and the human person to even more intimate levels. Though he is God like the Father, Jesus embraces humanity sans its sinful nature (cf Jn 1). Jesus identifies with his disciples in their various experiences of mission and persecution (cf Mt 10:40). He identifies with the small and insignificant, such as the children (cf Mt 18:5).

The parable of the judgment of the nations contains the most revealing passages about Jesus’ concern and identification with “the last, the lost, and the least.” One who does works of mercy towards these persons in need is saved not for the good works he does; one is saved because one’s good works are done for God who identifies with the persons in need.

Salvation is not just being good and doing good. It is not earned by philanthropy. Salvation is living our faith in God in our relationships with others.